


An Interview Away

by sandorizu



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-05 14:00:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1820887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandorizu/pseuds/sandorizu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lightning gets a phone call from someone wanting to interview her about the previous world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Interview Away

**Author's Note:**

> This drabblish thing kind of happened after Ryu's summary of the first novel part. Thank you for the feels!

No one other than Serah ever called Lightning, so it was slightly surprising to look at the screen and see an unknown number. She even hesitated for a moment before sliding her finger over the screen to answer the call. She couldn't help but hope a little.

"Claire Farron", she said.

The surprise continued as a female voice she didn't recognise simply asked "Is this Lightning?". She looked at her phone again, taking a few seconds to reply.

"Who's asking?"

The girl on the other end took in a sudden breath.

"I'm sorry! That was very sudden of me, wasn't it? My name is Aoede, I'm a journalist. I-- This might sound weird, but I've been looking for people with memories of another world. And someone I talked to told me to find Lightning."

Lightning furrowed her brows as she listened but the last words made a smile spread over her lips. Could it really be--

"...That's... Yeah, that's me."

"Oh my god, it's such an honour! Please, I would love to meet you and conduct an interview!"

Lightning stayed silent. Honestly, she wasn't sure how to react.

"I think I might also have some information you might be interested in."

"Such as?", she asked, maybe a tad too fast.

"I've met Hope Estheim."

Lightning suddenly found it hard to breathe. A few seconds passed.

"I knew it!" the girl suddenly exclaimed. "He didn't know where you are! That's why he said that, oh boy! Please do meet me, Ms. Lightning!"

Was there really any possibility to refuse? She doubted it, her chest felt warm simply from thinking about seeing her silver haired partner again.

She hadn't realised how much she depended on him until the end. But she knew he was out there somewhere. Now maybe closer than she had ever imagined.

The girl on the phone had given her a time and a location and she showed up exactly on time. Aoede was already sitting at a table, waiting. There was nothing special about the girl at all, she looked completely like anyone else in this city and Lightning wasn't sure if that felt comforting or the complete opposite. 

She pulled out her chair and sat down before the girl had the time to stand up and greet her. Aoede looked at her and smiled widely.

"It's such an honour to meet you! I have heard so much about you. It's so easy to see what he--, I mean, you are very pretty Ms. Lightning!"

It all felt very weird. Lightning knew this girl had information she wanted, and over the last couple of days she had been pacing back and forth in her apartment thinking about it. She felt ridiculous thinking about how much she clearly wanted to see Hope, how much she _needed_ to see him.

Without him she wouldn't be here.

But the information came at a price. She had promised to answer the girl's questions. At first it was hard. It all started so long ago, how does one even describe such a time span? To think that it all started with Serah. 

Soon the words started coming easier. Despite the waves of guilt she felt at times, the words flowed naturally and she explained about Valhalla, about Caius and Etro. About how everything went wrong and about her crystal sleep. 

Sometimes she could see Aoede nodding, showing she had heard parts before. Lightning wondered if it was only Hope she had interviewed. Somehow she doubted he would have told her that much.

As she reached the time after her crystal sleep she felt the words dry up. Like she didn't know which words to choose, how to describe the time as the Saviour. How to explain the events with Bhunivelze.

She fell silent.

"...I'm sure there's more" Aoede tried.

Lightning looked to the side, searching for words.

"...It... it was me and Hope, we... I..."

Aoede smiled.

"This is exactly where he stopped as well. Promised to tell me more if I find you and listen to you."

Lightning sighed.

"He-- He was-- Bhunivelze used us both to create this new world, but his wishes went further than that. I didn't find out until the last day... We fought back in the end and saved each other. ...I wouldn't be here without him."

She could see interest shining in the girl's eyes and she knew this was the subject she wanted to know more about. Lightning decided she'd try, and she did. It wasn't easy to explain, and most things she didn't even want to mention. Now that it was all over it felt too personal. 

And more than anything, those fourteen days she had spent with Hope. She hadn't appreciated it enough then, and how it made her feel now was something she wanted to keep to herself. She felt she had the right to be a little selfish. 

But she could explain about the state of Nova Crysalia, about releasing souls for the new world. No details, a quick overview and then she was again silent. 

Aoede looked at her for a second before sighing.

"I feel like there's more, but thank you Ms. Lightning. I do know a lot more now. To think that everyone here should be thankful but nobody knows it--"

"I don't want any thanks. I couldn't have done anything alone."

The girl chuckled. "So very modest!"

She closed her notebook and put it away into her back while continuing "but I promised you Hope's details". Lightning's heart sped up as a small piece of paper became visible, but before Aoede could give it to her she had already decided.

"No."

The girl stopped and looked at her in susprise.

"You don't...?"

Lightning looked down and smiled.

"Please give my details to him instead. ...He's better at those things."

After an almost uncomfortably long silence the girl said "of course!" in a very excited voice and put the note back into her bag.

"He did promise me more information if I found you, so this is perfect!"

Lightning nodded without a word, hoping that she'd made the right choice. She'd wanted to find him more than anything, and now she knew he was only a phone call away. Now she could suddenly question why she wanted to see him so much, why she _needed_ him in her life.

She just knew she might not actually be able to make that phone call. But he would. 

The girl had left her with a smile, promising to tell Hope where Lightning was several times, shaking her hand and thanking her over and over again. That was almost two weeks ago by now. 

Lighting had waited every day for something, but after a week she'd started to consider that maybe the girl had been faking. Maybe she didn't know where Hope was. But how had she then even known his name? Questions went back and forth in her head for days. 

Soon she was convinced Hope simply didn't want to contact her. He could, but he wouldn't. He was probably living happily with his parents now, no matter had he stayed as a child or been reborn as his true self. She was a part of his past, a part of the fucked up times. It was all perfectly logical, she told herself.

When the letter lay on her floor inside the door fifteen days after her interview she dropped her bag the instant she saw it. She simply stared down at it for minutes before reaching down and picking it up. Her eyes instantly fixed on the return address in the upper left corner. 

It started with the name _Hope Estheim_.


End file.
